not to wrap my cards in tin foil?

[Nagoo]

Stranger informs me that she read on the internet that in America 'men in vans' have technology to read your bank cards and the only way to stop them taking all my money is to wrap them in tin foil.

They will target ladies handbags and men's back pockets, she informs me.

AIBU to ignore her and keep my cards in my non-tin-foil purse?

she seems one step away from a tin-foil hat

I suggest you direct the stranger to snopes where she will no doubt find this is an urban myth

Do as I do and spend all your money, then they can't steal it

Yabu you need to go further In my opinion.
I wrap myself and the kids up in tin foil before we leave the house everyday just leaving eye holes.

Big brother is watching, the end is nigh!

Agree Trebles they would think they in heaven with my abundance of cards but probably get more from the Boots advantage card.
Seriously though I have read/heard/dreamt something about these contactless cards I have a Virgin one and not sure if that is safe. Anyone know ??

I don't believe this but I have noticed that the 'Useless Things' catalogue that comes with the sunday paper now has foil lined wallets for sale for the reasons in the OP. :o

this is where i MN from

you never know who's tapping the phone

look!

this wallet will stop you from getting blown up as well.

Good point treble
My bank has £10.53 in it,they won't get far on that

The fuckers better not use my nectar points!!

www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/pickpocket.asp

I think I'm safe.

Can't take out more than £15 at a time on contactless and after 3 transactions you have to enter your PIN.

So that's £45 at most they can get out of your account. Hardly worth the risk.

::adjusts tinfoil corset::

OMFG!

I saw a woman in Wilkinsons unwrap her debit card from foil the other day! I was so that I rang DP (shop manager - must have seen it before) and he was at a loss too.

The checkout lady asked if she was 'keeping her card warm' and the foil-card lady just said that she didn't own a purse.

Is this why then? In case of vigilante handbag vans who randomly can't see through foil??

I lost my purse and the fucker who found it and dumped it spent my £70+ worth of Boots points. I think Boots cards should be treated as credit/debit cards would be.

I wrapped a chicken in foil earlier and put it in the oven too to be extra careful. You never know what foul play might be at hand

cheeky
or even fowl play....

I did actually read an article in the newspapers a while back (fairly recently) that there is a type of contactless card that can be read through pockets with a type of machine.
It can't be read through foil, though. Can't remember where I read it, but will try to find it!

Dammit chazs, thats what I meant to put, I was so happy with my joke I typed too quickly..... [fails]

There you go, knew it had been in the news recently phew I'm not going mad
www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cardsloans/article-2137219/Card-details-robbed-radiowave-thanks-new-contactless-technology.html

I had my card details stolen about a month ago - wonder if it could have been something like this, because the card never left my sight

I got stung like that too JKP. They didn't suck out the boots points by Radio-power though.

Suggest she fashions herself a tin foil helmet to stop the bad people stealing her thoughts?

This article is a few months old now . the cards were originally designed to work from a few feet away and in pockets etc
but that has changed and now the card has to be almost right up against the reader

supposing someone could get close enough to read your card with one of these devices it doesnt transmit your security code or your pin no and in newer cards doesnt transmit your name either . Without that info they cant make a duplicate card

They still cant use your card anywhere that needs a pin no or any scrupulous site on line that asks for your security no

panic not people

and its easier to get your money back if your card is cloned or misused than it is to get £15 back if your purse is stolen with £15 cash in it

Why men? And why vans? Can you not pocket spy from any other vehicle?

bloody cheeky using your boots point .. they should have a pin no too .. there quite valuable

saskia .. more likely to have been stolen on line tbh... It just needs your normally protective firewall to be down for a couple of hours..

I'm always swapping shoulders with my handbag, they'd never be able to get a read on mine :o